Vertically reciprocating door installation and operating means



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 79 A va-E C. E. SCHLYTERN VERTICALLY RECIPROCATING DOORINSTALLATION AND OPERATING MEANS 7 Filed March 21, 1947 M. mm mm E a MSm w H m 7 .H m 0 ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1952 c. E. SCHLYTERN VERTICALLYRECIPROCATING DOOR INSTALLATION AND OPERATING MEANS Filed March 21, 19473 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ScHL rz'zzmv BY 3709M ATTO R N EY19, 1952 c. E. SCHLYTERN VERTICALLY RECIPRQCATING DOOR INSTALLATION IAND OPERATING MEANS Filed March 21, 1947 s Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR C2111um E. ScHLYrERu ATTORN EY Patented Aug. 19, 1952 UNITED STATES :FFICEVERTICALLY RECIPROCATIN G DOOR IN- STALLATION AND OPERATING MEANS Myinvention pertains to electrical motorized or power driven operatingmeans and more especially to a system for operating a member, such as anupward acting door for example, which is to be moved back and forth atWill and to various subcombinations of such a system, as well aselements, per se.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved electric poweroperated system for moving a member, such as a door for example, backand forth between two extreme positions, which is especially convenientto install, operate and maintain, and which is reliable in operation.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a motorizedsystem which is especially advantageous for operating upward actingdoors.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an improved compactelectric operator pack of an electric motor and controls in a unit whichis especially convenient to install and wire. This invention is claimedin my copending divisional application Serial No. 49,250 iiled SeptemberM, 1948.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved cable and cablesheave combination which is advantageousfor use. in operator systems.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved sheave.

Further objects and advantages are with-in the scope of my invention,such as relate to the arrangement, operation and function of the relatedelements of the structure, to various details of the construction and tocombinations of parts, elements per se, and to economies ofmanufactureand numerous other features as. will be apparent from aconsideration of the specification in conjunction with the drawingsdisclosing specific embodiments of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing the rear or inside of an upwardacting door arranged for power operation in accordance with theinvention; 7

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view showing the power and control unit;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view showing the inner side or garage side ofthe power unit;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the power unit;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the-control supporting bracket; 3

Fig. '7 is a plan view of the socket plate;

Fig. 8 is a diagram for illustrating the operation of the reversingswitch by the down limit stop on the door;

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing operation of the reversing switch by the uplimit stop from the cable;

Fig. 10 is a schematic view representing the 4 Claims. (Cl. 268959) 2door balancing and operatingspring'and cable system; a

Fig. 11 is a side elevational improved cable sheave;

Fig. 12 is a cross-'sectional view on line 2- -12 of Fig. 11; v

Fig. 13 is adiagrammatic view illustrating-the operation of the specialcable insuch a sheave;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the lock and theelectromagnetically movable lock strike;

Fig. 15'is a cross-sectional view on :line 55-15 in Fig. 14; and

Fig. 16 is a Wiring diagram schematically representing the electricalcircuits and. control means for operating the motor,'the electric lightand the lockstrike.

Referring more specifically to .Figs. 1 and 2 I have illustrativelydisclosed a Wall II having a doorway l3 closed by an overhead door .15,which may be of. any conventional construction'comprising a plurality ofdoor sections. 15 each extending horizontally across the doorway andhinged together in the usual vertical edge-toedge relation. As usual insuch installations, guide tracks' I? are provided. extending on bothsides of the doorway for receiving guides or rollers 19 extending fromthe edges of the door, to guide orchange the direction of movement ofView showing 'my the door in its up or down .movements, and if there isnot suificient overhead space to receive the door in its uppermost oropen position, it is common to curve the guide tracks in toward ahorizontal position supported by hanger brackets 20 fromthe permanentbuilding structure, as shown.

To provide well balanced easy operation of the door evenly at bothsides,.in accordance with my invention, a cross-shaft 2I is providedextending across over the doorwayand rotatively supported in two bearingbrackets 23 which may be mounted on the horizontal track braces 25, oron the building structure. The shaft'carries two cable sheaves 21secured firmly thereon, as by set screws 29 or by keys if preferred, anddisposed adjacent the ends of the shaft and over the side edges of thedoor for passing cables 3| extending thereover and down-t0 the bottom ofthe door where the ends of the cables are anchored by securing aroundholds 33 on the door. Fig. '10 also diagrammatically illustrates thecable arrangement.

From'the cable sheaves 21 on the ends of the shaft the cables 3! passthrough floating sheaves 35 and then return to have the other endsanchored' in the horizontal track braces 25, or on the buildingstructure. The two floating spring sheaves35 are attached .to one end oftwocounterbalance springs 31, the other ends of which are anchored intothe track hangers 2B, or to .provided with holes 55 for the screws 41.

straight upward or turns up on the horizontal overhead portions of thetracks, as shown, the

tension cases on the springs but as the door descends to closed positionthe tension of the springs increases and supports the door weight.

For operating the door, I provide a compact operator pack or power unitcomprising a conventional geared electric motor M having a housing 4| onone end enclosing a speed reducing worm gear transmission, on which I.provide a drive shaft 43 extending to both sides for convenientcoupling, as by a loose coupler 44, to the door shaft 2| from either theright-hand or the left-hand side of the door.

As Figs. 3 and 4 show more clearly, on the opposite end of such a motorI install a second housing 45 which is secured by screws 41 to a bracket49, of a generally U-shaped cross-section, and the upper ends of theside-walls of this bracket are secured to the adjacent end bell of themotor, as by screws 5|. This bracket is seen in side elevation in Fig. 4and edge or end elevation in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 shows a plan view of thebracket, where it is seen that the four outer corners of the side-wallsare provided with holes 53 for receiving the motor attachment screws 5|,and the lower yoke portion of the bracket is In the center of the loweryoke of this bracket a hole 51 is provided for receiving the mountingbushing to mount a conventional panel type toggle switch 59 held in thebracket by the usual panel nut 50 with the toggle lever and terminalball 50' projecting externally. Between the lower end or yoke of thebracket 49 and. the lower end of the housing 4|, a socket plate 6| ispreferably provided. This socket plate 6| is seen in plan view in Fig. 7and the edge may be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, and the dotted outline isshown in Fig. 5. This socket plate 6| and the end of the housing 4| areof course provided with holes 55' corresponding to the holes 55 in thebracket, as well as a central aperture 51' corresponding to the hole 51for mounting the snap switch therein. Conventional electric sockets '63are mounted in and through the end wall of the housing 4| in outwardlyopening relation for receiving a fuse 65 and an electric incandescentlamp 6'! to be connected into the control circuits, in a manner to besubsequently described. The socket plate 6| has suitable apertures 69for passing the conventional electric sockets therethrough, the end wallof the housing is provided with similar apertures, and openings H areout out of the sidewalls of the bracket to accommodate the sides ofthese sockets. Mounted .upon one of the side-walls of the bracket 49 isan initiation or sequence relay R. The structure and operations of theswitch and the relay will be subsequently described in detail, withreference to the wiring diagram Fig. 16.

A look 13 is secured and carried on the-rear or inner side of one of thedoor section panels IS with its bolt 75 projecting to one side suitablyto engage the inclined surface or Cam 1'! on a lock strike 19, as may beseen in Figs. 1, 2, l4 and 15. This arrangement is such that, as thedoor descends, the lock bolt 15 is depressed by the inclined cam surfaceif! of the lock strike and then the lock bolt snaps out under the lockstr k as shown in Figs. 1, 14 and 15, to hold the door locked down in aclosed position. A key hole 19 (shown dotted) is provided through thedoor panel l5 and also the block 8| whereon the lock is mounted so thatit can be conveniently controlled by an authorized person on theoutside, and of course it may be controlled from the inside by theconventional knob 83. The lock 13 may be any conventional cylinder andlatch type of lock.

So that the door may be automatically unlocked when the electric motoris energized to open the door, I support the lock strike 19 movably forcontrol by a solenoid or electromagnet 85, which is connected by wires86 to be energized when the motor is energized, as will be subsequentlydescribed. For this purpose, the lock strike 19 may be pivotally mountedon a pivot pin 81 which is supported in a stationary plate 89 secured tothe wall or door casing, as by screws 9|. The relation of the movableand the stationary parts of the lock strike are much like the two partsof a door hinge, except that a portion of the stationary plate 89 isbent away from the building structure to extend alongside the guidetrack IT, and the movable part 19 of the lock strike is bent to curvearound the guide rail IT, as may be seen in Figs. 14 and 15, with aportion 93 projecting to the other side of the pivot pin to be attractedas an armature by the electromagnet 85, to swing the cam and lock strikesurface 11 back to the unlocked position, shown by dotted lines in Fig.15. A spring 95 is provided curled around the mid-portion of the pivotpin 87. One end of this spring reacts against the stationary part of thelock strike so that the other end of the spring normally biases themovable part of the lock strike to the locking position, shown in fulllines in Fig. 15.

Figs. 11 and 12 show my improved sheave, for.

use in such systems, comprising a. hub 9'! of tubular stock and two sidesheave members 99 which are centrally apertured for fitting upon thehub. The central portionsof the sheave side members are flat anddisc-like to fit snugly together in side-by-side relation, and the outermarginal portions are relatively dished or inclined. The sheave sidemembers 99 are assembled on the hub with the dished margins diverging orspreading apart to provide an annular cable receiving groove openingoutwardly around the sheave. The hub may be conveniently made of tubularstock and the sheave side members may be stamped out of sheet metal ofsuitable gauge.

The sheave side members are conveniently secured t0 the hub, as bywelding, and may also be secured together, as by spot welding betweenthe flat central portions. Ihe hub may be drilled and threaded forreceiving the set screw or pin 29. 7

I have found that by utilizing in such a system and with such sheaves, asoft steel cable of the type having a cotton center, especiallyadvantageous results are obtained. The frictional drive contact in theV-sheaves is dependent upon the soft steel cables deforming to bottom inthe sheaves, as represented in Fig. 13, from the equal load implied bythe door and the reacting force of the springs. Any unbalance of thesenormally equal loads would prevent the cable from bottoming in thesheaves thus providing slippage, which is an important safety factor.

Fig. 16 diagrammatically represents the connection of the electric motorM into a system With the service lines for 'energization andoperationrthroughthe; control devices. previously ".described'." Thereversing: ;sw;itc1r=:-.59 is a conven: tional 3-pole rdouble.;thro.w-.,switch ahavingthrefi blades? tied together to .move:either.,;to ,ithe' nigh hand side to operativelyi enageiazcorrespondins set;- of three stationary:'contaots- :or? .to thelefthand side-(to engage anotherrset ,o-f three-station: ary contacts. 1From. ithe: upper .andithezmiddle blades of the-reversing Switch 159';wires. LOI Jfand I 03 respectively. extend. to I the terminals :ofone-of the windings M Iiof ,themotorfi' Theubottom blade of the:reversing switclrfi 9:. is connected; b a. wire Il151tovone:.terrni'nal-.oi 1 the: other winding 1M2; of the; motor, sand the:other terminal oiithis wind? ing is connected by ar-wire: lfllttoitheupperrighthand stationary contact, and. ironr whence I a wire I99connects-to .the center.leftehand-rcontact of this switch";Fromthebottom.blade ofthe..re-. versing switch; ,a' wire connects to: the.u-pperiletthand'iand also tozthecentralright-'hand contacts; although"thiszmayrloe' all. accomplishedrbyz means of the ,singlerwire. .I 05extending.;;trom athis'. blade to the motor. Fromuthe-.lowerrightdiahdcontact o-fLthe reversing switch a wire III connects to the right-handstationary contact of the initiating relay Rand a wire II3 connects fromthe left-hand stationary contact of this relay to the left-hand lowercontact of the. reversing switch.

The initiating or sequence relay R has a single movable blade I I5 whichis moved to engagerilrst one 'and then; the other one of, two sta onarycontacts by thesuccessive energization .0 pinsing 10f a winding'I II-in-a manner,commonwith such relays;- as-by meansoftlieiwell knofwhpawland ratchet arrangement Inoti shown)..j= movable blade-1 I5-isconnectedj by a wire "I I19to one' el d o'f-the coil I-II; wherel alsois connected one-endc'f the service line L2. Ero-m th' votherterminalofthe relay windingfII'I a wire .I2I connects the ones-ideofa-pushfibutton I23ior-any other=suitable actuating means. ".The other.line conductor LI connects-tooneiendgof the Iuse65 (by-connectiontooneside "off the fuse; soclcet) from the other'end of which a'wii'reI25'rconnoots to the' center"left-hand stationary contaotof thereversing-switch 59:From,th eother end J fifi and wire I25; a-wireI2Tconnects to the th'er side of the push button- I23. "Ihje,'1ampIil'II nected across the bottom" andfthe cent hand contacts of the reversing'switchjil "and the connection-ofthe motor" dingslin orithe s'ystezn -isso" selectedyth-a-t' when,, this ,reyersing switch is in its left-handposition, the direction of operation is to open the door. The lockrelease electromagnet 85 is connected by wires 86 to the lower movableblade and to the left-hand center contact of the reversing switch. Hencethe lamp 6'! is lighted and the look is released when the system isenergized to open the door.

In operation: By operating the push button I23 a circuit is completedwhich energizes the winding I I! of the sequence relay R. This causesthe relay R to throw its blade I I5 to its opposite or alternateposition in a well known manner. This completes the motor energizingcircuits, the two windings MI and M2 being energized to run the motor ina direction as predetermined by the set position of the reversing switch59. As

the door I5 approaches its extreme position the reversing switch 59 isthrown over thus interrupting the operation and setting the motorcircuits for reverse operation the next time the relay R, is operated bythe push :button I23.

This throw over of the reversing switch is acoperationisdiagrammatically represented inEig;

8. :For theup limit operation, anuptlimitlever I31 is vpivotally :muntedon a stati n ry bracket I39 below the powerunit and it extends ;up;along the track I9 to the door sideof the. switchlever, which itengages by a projection I49. The upper end of this up limit leverI3,I-.is bent andprovidedwitha roller I II which is suitably posit nnedto be ed in a d y a y iromtne-d or by-the cable 3| as the ,dOQI1I'e"a|GhS IQQIJIPQQIY most position. Thisoperationis diagrammatical- 1y showninFig; 9.

In view of .thepopwer unit having cqlltrqls gqmpactly assembled. it maylbevery conveniently-in; stalled and wired. The'service conductors llland L2 maybe the conductors of the plugin cord I43 shown inFig. l, andit is only necessary-to plug inthe energizing connection after the-powerunit has (been mounted in proper relation to its limit controls. Usuallyit .will be preferred to mount the. push button I23, or otheractuatingmeans, separately from the unit, as.- for: example on the wall ofthegarageas shown; Also aplu rality of the actuating, push buttons I 23{maybe provided and connected in parallel, as represented inFig; 16.One' suchpush button Imay: be

mounted inside of the house andperhaps .it may be desired to mount oneon a post..adjacent the driveway, with a suitaible. lo'ckedfl cover;(not shown). Also I23. symbolizes any. othensuitahle actuating means 1such as a floor. plate, electric eye,lf,drivew y. nonmagnetic pick-un tadio ,or otl'ierv known-control means A base. is. iabricated of angleirIoIns Iiii'andia latejifijlf xv Although an overheadtylpe ofdoorinstallation has been shownit Iis .toibe understood that-my improvedoperatingmeansmay be advantageo s 1y utiliz 'edwith any upwardwactingdoors, one n for. otherv members. which are l to he. movedetweentwoextremepositions;

It isjapparentl thatwithinthescopep i n ventionimodifieationsand,diirerentfarrangexnents maybe made'other than herein disclosed, andthe present disclosure is illustrative merely, the inventioncomprehending variations thereof.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In an upward acting door and locking arrangement the combination of,a wall having a doorway to be closed, a door of suitable size and shapefor closing said doorway, means movably supporting said door formovement either upwardly to open the doorway or downwardly to close thedoorway, a lock mounted on the door adjacent one edge thereof, said lockhaving a horizontally projectedlock, bolt extendable be- -yond the edgeof the door, a lock strike, means movably'mounting said lock strike on astationary structure adjacent the edge of the doorway to be engaged bysaid lock bolt as the door moves down to a closed position, said lockstrike having an inclined surface positioned for engaging the end of thelock bolt and pushing it to retracted position in the look as the doordescends and r then receiving the look bolt projected under the lockstrike for locking the door down in its'closed position, resilient meansnormally moving said ilock strike to the lock bolt engaging position,manual unlocking means for said lock operative from the outer side ofsaid door, and electromagnetic-means for moving said lock strike to adisengaged position for unlocking the door so that the door can beraised. I

2. An upward acting door and locking arrangement in accordance withclaim 1 and further characterized by having a reversible electric motor,door operating means driven by said motor to move the door to opened orto closed position, and circuit means connecting said electromagneticmeans to be energized to unlock the door when the motor is energized toopen the door.

3. In a motorized upward acting door installation the combination of, awall having a doorway to be closed, a door for closing said doorway,guide means adjacent the opposite edges ofthe doorway for guiding thedoor in its movements adjacent thereto, a shaft rotatively disposed overthe doorway, two V-type cablesheaves supported and secured on said shaftrespectively above opposite edges of the door, a pair of cables disposedto run individually over said cable sheaves with one end of each cableextending down and connected to the lower part of the door, said cablesbeing of soft stranded steel having centers of fibrous non-metallicmaterial, counterbalancing means connected with the portions of saidcables running over said sheaves for tensioning the cable to engage insaid sheaves and to counterbalance the weight of the door in its variouspositions, and a reversible electric motor connected with said shaft tomove the door up and down as desired.

4. In a motorized upward acting door installation the combination of, awell having a doorway to be closed, a sectional door for closing saiddoorway, two guide tracks disposed one adjacent each edge of the doorwayin said wall, guide means extending from the edges of the door tocooperatively engage said guide tracksfor guiding the door in its up anddown movements, the upper portions of said guide tracks curving inwardlyaway from the wall so that the .door moves to a substantially horizontalposition above the doorway as it is raised to an openposition, a pair ofdoor balancingsprings, means anchoring andholding one end of each springat a position inwardly from the wall above the doorway, a pair offloating cable sheaves one on the other end of each spring, a-pair ofcables one passing through each floating sheave, said cables being ofsoft stranded steel having centers of fibrous non-metallic material, ashaft rotatively supported extending across over the doorway, two cablesheaves having V-shaped cable grooves and secured upon said shaft oneabove each opposite edge of the door, said cables passing over the cablesheaves and down to connect with the lower portion of the correspondingedge of the door, the other end of'each' cable being'anchored afterpassing through its'floating sheave, said springs being selected ofsuitable strength and said springs and cables being of suitable lengthsand suitably tensioned so that the main portion of the weight of thedoor is balanced by the springs as the door moves up or down adjacentthe doorway or as it turns inwardly along the upper horizontal portionsof said guide tracks, and reversible power means connected with saidshaft for moving the door up or down to open or close said doorway asdesired. 1

' CHARLES E. SCI-ILY'IERN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

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Bedding et al. Oct. 30, 1945

